I'm Coming After You
by redskiez
Summary: A police officer meets the local graffiti artist.


For TobiDei Week 2018 - Day 2. Policeman and Criminal.

* * *

A file slaps on to his desk.

Obito looks up, raising an eyebrow at his supervisor.

"It's the third time this week," Madara says, placing his hands on his hips. "Just answer it."

"I thought you said this kind of thing is the last thing on our priority list," Obito says, reaching out to take the file. He leafs through the report and checks the complaint log.

"It is the least of our concerns," Madara agrees, "but just look around you – we're not swarmed with some big case right now and this guy's been complaining about the man for two weeks now. It's a waste of the operator's time if every other call is from him."

Obito nods, shutting the file. He stands up. "I'll just bring him in, then," Obito says.

"No, no," Madara shakes his head. "It's just vandalism. I don't want to waste any time or space for that guy. Just give him a warning."

"Okay," Obito nods and after he gets the confirmation of the address from Madara, he heads out to the carpark.

He tosses the file on the dashboard and starts the car, peeling away from the lot. The reporter doesn't live that far away from the station, so it doesn't take him that long to reach his destination.

The moment he puts his car on park, he sees a man running toward him in what seems like pajamas. Obito quickly gets out of the car, file in hand, before being crowded against the sleek body a few moments later.

"You stupid coppers finally decide to take a look," the old man is saying to him – or saying to himself, Obito can't tell – and he waves his hand at the general direction to his left. "The kid is over there, spraying and painting and it's ruining a perfectly good brick wall!"

Obito can't tell if this guy is for real or not, but he nods at every word he's uttering, suppressing the desire to laugh at his face.

While graffiti is considered illegal, it's really not that important to the police department to deal with. Kids just want to experience the thrill of doing something illegal for a bit and there's really no harm in spray painting. Obito, personally, can't even take this case seriously.

"I'll go talk to him," Obito says, raising his hands. The old man seems to get his meaning and backs off, but he stays close.

"Don't just talk to him!" he says. "Arrest him! It's illegal and he is disturbing the neighborhood!"

Obito glances around. The neighborhood is nearly empty save for a few who are getting ready to go to work – no one seems to be paying attention to the supposed aggressive vandalism that's going on.

"I can tell that there's a lot of unrest," Obito says and then walks away before he can hear more from the old man.

He follows the sidewalk down and eventually comes across an area that's relatively hidden from view. There's a giant brick wall that is a remnant from something Obito doesn't really care about and sure enough, a figure stands in front of it, moving this way and that. The tell-tale sound of spraying can be heard.

"Sir," Obito calls out, quickening his pace to make sure the kid doesn't get too much of a head start if he decides to run. He stops when he reaches the kid's side. "Sir?"

It seems like he didn't hear him the first time because the kid almost launches himself, face-first, into the brick wall from the start. Obito reaches out to place a hand to steady him.

"Sir, we've received complaints…" Obito trails off when the kid turns to face him.

Well, he's not that much of a kid.

Obito can't help but stare into those blue eyes.

Wait, no. He has a job to do.

"Uh," Obito utters when he notices the other man raise a golden eyebrow. He can't gouge his reaction because he's wearing a mask.

Obito sights, reaching up to take off his hat. "We've received complaints about your street art," he says, turning away to gaze at the large, stylized writing of the word 'katsu' on the brick wall. "It looks nice, but apparently it's causing 'unrest' among the neighborhood."

"Is it that old man, yeah?" the kid asks. He sounds nervous and Obito turns his gaze back, noticing for the first time his hunched stance and feet position. He's ready to bolt whenever Obito lowers his guard.

"Yeah," Obito nods, "he seems pretty adamant that I arrest you – but I won't."

The last part of his sentence seems to confuse the artist.

"I mean, graffiti is illegal," Obito says, "but it's not really that big of a concern. Besides, arresting you would make this thing more problematic than it needs to be, so I'm just letting you off with a warning, okay?"

The kid gives him a look.

"I'm not tricking you," Obito says. "Arresting you would just cause your parents to worry and it would also mean a lot more paperwork for me, right? So, just be a good boy and don't get caught next time."

"Don't get caught, hm?"

"You're a little gangster, huh?" Obito shakes his head. He lets go of the kid's shoulder when he notices that he's no longer wired tight. "Yeah, I'm telling you not to get caught. I know why you're vandalizing – every kid's reason is the same. You're just special because you're vandalizing in the middle of the day. I suggest you do it at night when the old man is asleep."

"Why are you teaching me how to break the law, hm?" the kid asks, taking a step back.

Obito shrugs. He doesn't really know either.

"It's just graffiti," Obito shrugs. "It's not that high on our priority list and it's a waste of time and resources to go out and catch you guys."

The kid barks out a laugh.

"Is that really what's going on in your little stations, hm?" the kid asks, reaching up to wipe away some tears.

"We like to pretend that we are very busy," Obito says. "If there's not enough information or if no one reports it, then it's not considered important enough to open a case file for."

"This country is lazy," the kid shakes his head. "Can you guys not see the unjust around you?"

"I'm not paid enough for that," Obito says. "Little vigilante, you have heart. Why don't you put that energy into something else? You can be a part of some art gallery and get your message through that way – or start a social media account to get a following."

"You're teaching me how to start my own business now, yeah? You're really funny, officer."

"Every member of society has a hand in keeping the peace of the country," he says. "If you feel like the unjustness around you is important enough to fight for, then you have to fight your own battles in a special way."

"You sound sad, officer, hm."

"Wasted my chance," Obito shrugs. "I know there's a lot of evil in this world and if I had a better paying job, I'd definitely join you in your vigilante fight. Too bad I'm stuck at the desk and occasionally tasked to patrol the streets."

"You're weird, sir," the kid says.

"That's what realizing you have to live paycheck by paycheck does to you," Obito says. "How old are you?"

"Nineteen."

"Worked summer jobs yet?"

"I'm working part-time at FamilyMart, yeah."

Obito nods. "You live with your parents?"

"Nah, I live at the dorm, but yeah, they still pay for most things, hm."

"Imagine working full-time at FamilyMart and that's the only thing you live on," Obito says. He watches the kid's eyes change and then he nods at his reaction. "Yeah, that's why I'm stuck. I can't save up enough to find another job or get a better place. I'm also stuck at the desk job forever because my supervisor doesn't think I'm that great."

The kid looks at him and gives him a grimace.

"Why are you telling me all of this, hm? Am I not a criminal?"

"Technically," Obito says, "but do I look like a cop who will arrest kids for being kids?"

"You look weird," the kid says, touching the right side of his own face.

"That's not very polite," Obito says.

"Sorry," the teen shrugs, not sorry at all.

"What's your name?"

"Why should I tell you, hm? Stranger danger."

"I'm a police officer."

"Just because you're a police officer doesn't mean you're not a bad person."

"Do I seem like a bad person?"

The kid makes another face. "No," he admits and then he reaches up to take off his mask. Obito reins in his surprise at the gentle-looking face he has and swallows. "You're just not a good cop."

"Depends on what kind of 'good' you mean," Obito says.

"My name's Deidara," Deidara says.

"Nice to meet you, Deidara," Obito nods. "Now, I'll just need to see your ID so that I can write down a warning for you."

Deidara bends down, gathers all of his items, and then runs away.

Obito stands and just watches him, unwilling to run after the kid. Oh well, he shrugs to himself and then heads back to his car.

The old man is still there.

"You didn't arrest him," the man says.

"He ran away," Obito replies, unlocking his car and getting in.

"Then catch him!" The man screams at his window but, Obito notes, he doesn't get any closer.

"My orders don't involve arresting him, sir," Obito says. "If he continues to show up, please come to the station to report it."

He drives away. In the rear-view mirror, he notices the man standing there, furiously stomping his feet. He reminds Obito of a cartoon character.

Obito shakes his head, glancing at the wall that Deidara painted when he passes it, noting the tiny little white characters that are hidden in the bubbles of the word 'katsu.' Maybe his life _is_ a cartoon, at this point.

* * *

Hey guys, Red here!

This is beta'd by AO3 user Dani_ATN.

This is for the second day of TobiDei week 2018.

I'm really proud of this one. I hope you all enjoyed it! Please leave a review.

If you haven't already, you should follow me on Tumblr (redskiez dot net). I post updates, drawings, and cats on there. I will also answer any and all asks, so if you have any questions or requests, you can send them to me through Tumblr! My inbox is always open.

Did you know that I have a ko-fi? You can go to ko-fi dot com slash redskiez to buy me a coffee!


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